Cigarette-case.



J; B. P. FENDER.

CIGARETTE cAsE. APPLIOA'IION I:II;ED JUNE 4, 1906.

Patented'Aug. 31, 1909..

. 'INVENTEIR ATTY \IIIZTNESYEIES mzmui E444 UNITED STATES BEST AVAILABLE COPY PATENT orrion.

.FAKES E. -P. FENDER, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO GORHA M MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, OF PROVIDENGIE, RHODE ISLAND,-A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

CIGARETTE-CASE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1 909.

Application filed June 4, 1906. erial No. 320,024.

To all 11:72am. it may concern:

Be it known that], Jmh'zs E. P. FENDER,

. of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-1n Cigarette-Cases; and I do hereby declare the following specificatiom taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and

:exact description thereof. -'Tlie lnvention relates to that class of cigarette cases composed 0tv two sections simplify and chcapen the construction of such cases, and another object is to provide a construction in which the operating parts, except the projecting finger-pieces, are practically concealed from view.

,To that end the invention consists in the construction and em'nbimrtions of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

eferring to the drawings, Figure 1 is aplan view of a cigarette ease embodying the invention with the hinged sections in open' position and showing the interior of the case; F 2 is a .front edge view of the case closed; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section at the line wx, and Fig. 4t. a corresponding enlarged section atthe line 1,/-7 of Figs. 1 and 2, but sl'lowing the case closed; Figs. 5, 6, 7 and are detailed views of the several par s.

The case comprises the two sections 1 and 2 hinged together by any suitable hinge con struction. Prefers-.hly these two sections are hinged. together by some suitable form of spring hinge, with thcspring arranged to throw open the case and. requiring the employment of a catch to hold the case closed against thev action of such spring. The swinging arms 3 and, 4 are also provided wvith spring hinges, with the springs arranged to throw said arms away from their holding position.

Spring catches are provided for holding the case. closed and for retammg the swinging arms in their holding position, said catches being adapted to be operated by finger-pieces extending to theoutside of the .'case. v

One feature of the present invention consists in a construction whereby one spring the case itself and the catch for one of the swinging arms. Such. a. single spring 5 adapted to operate in connection with both of said catches is shown in Fig. 5. As there shown this spring. 5 is a Hat spring eonstructed to extend along the-outer side and for a certain distance along each end of the secti n 1, said-section being provided with an overhanging edge and said spring 5 being constructed 'to underlie this overhanging edge, as indicated in Fig. 1. Formed integral with the spring 5 are two catches 6, 6, adapted to enter suitable recesses 7 in the opposite overhanging edge of the section 2 and engage said overhanging edge. 1 Located between the two catches 6,0, is an integral projection-fi, against which the finger-piece 9 bears, said finger-piece projecting through the edge of the section 1 to the outside thereof and being held inplace by the spring One end of the spring 5 is hooked under the undercut projection 10 formed on or socured to the section 1, and the spring is forced into place with its other end abutting-against the projection 11 formed on or secured to said section. To insure the retention of the spring 5 in place it is preferred to make the bent ends of said spring somewhat flaring or at somewhat more than a right angle with the main body of the spring. \Vith such construction the inward movement of the spring under the action of the finger-piece 9 will serve to force the spring more firmly against the projections 10 and 11.

The operation of the parts thus far described as follows: \V hen the case is closed ihc catches (3, .0. engage the overhanging edge ot the section 2, as clearly shown in i. and hold the sections closed against. the. action of the spring in the spring hinge o't 'sa-id sections. \Yhon it is desired to open the ca e the I! -(.l pres es inward upon the finger-piece 0 which results in bending inward the spring 7 at the; point where the {hug erqiieco bears. relrasing the double catch 0, (3. whereupon serves in connection with both the ratch for 60 gainst said spring. thereby constructed as shown in F 1g.

as shown.

, catch 12 thereon is a catch-piece 1 '5, said catch being eld'ag the two sections will fly open under the action of the springhinge. Upon closing the case the spring will yield and permit the catch 6 to engage the edge of the section 2 to hold the case closed.

Each of theswinging arms 3 and 4 is 7, each arm being provided at its free end with a catch 12 Arranged in proper relation to the arm 3 and adapted to be enga ed by the I rovided with a recess 13? to receive the over anging portion ofsaid catch 12, catch-piece hasya finger-piece 14 secured thereto, which said finger-piece 'rojects through'a suitable opening in the e ge of the section 1 to the outside of the case. Said catch-piece'13 is located in the recess formed by the overhanging edge of section 1- and back ,ofthe spring 5, and sp that said catch-pieee will beheld in place, with the fingerpieee proj'ecting' through the openin ainst endwise'dis placement by the finger-piece.

'With the catch-piece13 in osition, the arm 3 is swung to its ho di position, the catch 12 thereon will engage aid catchpiece, the sprin 5- yieldin to permit such engagement, and thereby tiie arm 3 will be retained in its holding position overlying the cigarettes contained. ins'ection 1 0 the case. By pressing inward on the finger-H piece 14:, the catch-plece 13 and the adjacent portion of the sprin 5 will be moved inward suflicientl to re ease the catch 12, and the arm 3 will in its springhinge, so as to leave freeaccess to the contents of said section 1 and permit the ready removal thereof. at this time open,

the action of the finger-piece l t-is or is not a sufficient movement to uncatch the catch 6.

independent of the spring 5 t e" inward h e spring 5-under. the action of the finger piece 9 has no eifect to the arm 3,todo which w1ll require an 1ndependent manipulation of the finger-piece 14. a single row of cigarettes the parts abovedescribed, minus the swinging arm 4, complete drawings, however, is adapted to hold two case, the swingin hold'in position tie row of cigarettes in the spring 15 is employed .to form a spring catch for the arm 4. This spring 15 is of the the inward movement of the'spring 5 under.

As the catch-piece 13 is entirely se arate andmovement of t uncatch For a cigarette case adapted to hold only the construction. The case shown 1n the rows of'clgarettes, one in each section of the section 2. In this case a corresponding flat same general shape as the spring 5' and is I held in place beneath the overhanging edge of the section 2 in the same manner, that is, one end of said spring 1s hooked under the undercut projection 16, and the spring 18 therefor, by said spring when e thrown over by the spring As the case is; it is inimaterial whether jarm l being employed to forced into position with its 0 oposite end abutting against the projection 1 7, as shown 1n Fig. 1. Secured to the back of the spring 15 1s a short piece 18, provided with a recess 19 to receive the overhanging portion of the catch 12 of the arm 4:. Said spring 15 is also rovided with a projection 20 against Whlc thefinger- 1ece-21 bears, said fingerpiece pro ecting t ough a suitable opening inthe edge of section 2 to the outside of the case. The operation of the spring 15 in connection with the swinging arm 1 will be readily understood With the arm tin its holding position, as showniinFig. 1, the catch 12 is engaged by the overhanging wall of the recess 19 so asto hold the arm in place. When the finger-piece 21 is pressed inward the s ring 15 is moved inward so as to release t e catcli'12' and permit the arm 4 to swing over under the action of its spring. When the arm is moved back-to its holding position the spring" 15 yields, permitting the passage of the catch 12 and its engagement with the wall of the recess 19. r

As will be seen, the construction above described either for a single row case or a double row case is very simple, comprising few parts, and these parts ma bevery easily and quickly. assembled, great y reducing the cost of constructionas com ared with cases of this characterv as hereto ore constructed. In addition it will be noted that with the construction shown and described a single 'spring'serves as the spring both for the main catch of the case and for one of the swinging arms. This still further-simplifies the construction, the arrangement being such that one spring is thus made to do the work of two. It will be further seen that the catch fo'rfeach of theswinging arms is at the outer end of said arm, and so that the outer end of the arm is positively latched and firmly held in position,while at the sametilne the latchfected ate finger-piece. I

It will also be noted that all the parts, ex cept the projecting portions of the fingerpieces, are practically concealed froxnview and protected by the overhanging edges of the sections of the case, while the fiat springs themselves present smooth surfaces and serve to give a finish to the inside of the case, the construction being such that the interior of thecase not only presents a neat and at-- traotive appearance, but is substantially tree from pro ections and recesses which, if pres ent, would serve to catch loose tobacco, ,dirt, andother foreign matter; \The case above described, while especially designed for holding cigarettes, nught of course be employed articles that might be desircd,the size and dimensions of the case being varied to suit for holding any other the particular articles to be carried therein. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V

1. In a case formed of two sections hinged together, a spring catch for holding said sections closed comprising a fiat spring extending along one side of one of said sections and around the corners thereof and withits ends bent to abut against fixed pro ections at the ends of said section, substantially as de' hinged together, witha chamber or, receptacle in one of said sections, the combination ot aswinging arm extending across said chamber, a. spring tending to swing said arm away from said chamber, and means for engaging the outer end of said arm to hold it against the action of said spring, substantially as described,

4. In a case comprising two sections hinged together, the combination of a swinging arm, a catch to hold the two sections closed, a catch to hold said swinging arm in position. and-a single spring forcontrollingtbgth of said catches, substantially as de- SUl'l )Ut In a. case comprising two sections hinged together, the combination of a spring- ..actuatcd swinging arm, a catch to hold the two sections closed, a catch to hold said swinging arm againstthe action of its spring, and a single spring for controlling both of said catches, substantially as described.

BEST AVAILABLE (IOPY 6. In a case comprising two sections.

hinged together, the combination of a swinging arm, a main catch to hold the two sections closed, a supplemental catch to hold said swinging arm in position, a single spring for controlling both of said catches, and means for releasing said main catch without relea sin said supplemental catch, substantially as described.

' 7. In a case comprising 'two sections hinged together, the combination of aswinging arm, a main catch to hold the two sections clo sed,'a supplemental catch to hold said .swinging arm in position, a single spring for controlling. both of said catches, means for releasing said main catch, and independent means for releasing said supplemental catch, substantially as described.

8. In a case comprising, two sections hinged together, the combination of a flat spring extending along the side of one of saidsections and carrying a catch to engage the other section, a swinging arm extendin across one of the sections, a supplementa catch for engaging said swinging arm, saidsupplemental catch being independent of, but arranged to be operated by, said fiat spring, a finger-piece for operating said .main catch, and a separate finger-piece" for operating said supple-mental catch, substantially as described.

9. In-a case provided with a chamber or receptacle, the combination of a swinging arm and a spring catclrfor engaging the outer end of aid arnnsaid catch comprising a flat spring extending alongpne side of the case and with its ends bent to engage fixed projections at the ends of said case, substantially as described.

"JAMES E. P. PENDER. Witnesses 'W. H. THURs'roN, J. H. TnUns'roN. 

